6 U.S.C. § 124h–1 — Threat information sharing

(a) Prioritization. The Secretary of Homeland Security must prioritize sending officers and intelligence analysts (assigned under section 124h of this title) from the Transportation Security Administration, and, as appropriate, from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, to fusion centers in areas with a high-risk surface transportation asset. The goal is to strengthen the security of those assets by improving timely information sharing about terrorism threats and other threats, including targeted violence — while still protecting privacy rights, civil rights, and civil liberties. (b) Intelligence products. Officers and analysts assigned to these fusion centers must participate in generating and sharing transportation security intelligence products, with an emphasis on products related to terrorism and targeted-violence threats to surface transportation assets. These products must: help state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies deploy their resources — including personnel — most efficiently to detect, prevent, investigate, apprehend, and respond to such threats; promote more consistent and timely sharing of threat information among jurisdictions; and enhance the Department's situational awareness of these threats. (c) Clearances. The Secretary must make available to appropriate owners and operators of surface transportation assets, and to anyone else the Secretary decides is appropriate, the process for applying for security clearances, in order to foster greater sharing of classified terrorism- and targeted-violence-threat information. This uses the process under Executive Order No. 13549 (a classified national security information program) or any successor executive order. (d) Report to Congress. Not later than one year after December 27, 2021, the Secretary must submit to the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs a report giving a detailed description of the measures used to ensure privacy rights, civil rights, and civil liberties protections in carrying out this section. (e) GAO report. Not later than two years after December 27, 2021, the Comptroller General of the United States must submit to the same two committees a review of how this section has been implemented. That review must assess the measures used to ensure privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections, and may include recommendations to improve implementation — together with recommendations to improve information sharing with state, local, tribal, territorial, and private-sector entities to prevent, identify, and respond to terrorism and targeted-violence threats to surface transportation assets. (f) Definitions. This section defines three terms. "Surface transportation asset" includes the facilities, equipment, or systems used to provide transportation services by: a public transportation agency (as defined in section 1131(5) of this title); a railroad carrier (as defined in section 20102(3) of title 49); an owner or operator of an entity offering scheduled, fixed-route over-the-road bus transportation (as defined in section 1151(4) of this title), or of a bus terminal; or other transportation facilities, equipment, or systems the Secretary determines fit. "Targeted violence" means an incident of violence where the attacker selected a particular target to inflict mass injury or death, with no discernable political or ideological motivation beyond that. "Terrorism" means both domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331(5) of title 18) and international terrorism (as defined in section 2331(1) of title 18).